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Communicating enthusiasm

One of the things that will draw your CV to the attention of an employer is if you communicate enthusiasm for the job. This will involve you creating the impression, in your CV, that you are energetic, and driven to succeed in the job and in life.

How do you create that impression?

Use action verbs to create the impression that you are enthused by the job; not just a little interested, but actually excited by the prospect of working in the role.

‘I am determined to create the ideal customer experience.’

Use words that carry a lot of energy

‘I am passionate about sales.’ So, not just happy when selling, but in your element.

Use the active voice. Compare these two sentences. They are saying, roughly, the same thing, but one is much more active than the other and so, conveys more energy than the other, which makes it seem as if the promotion somehow dropped into the lap of the writer without them having to do anything much at all to deserve it!

‘I earned a promotion to manager after only six months.’

‘A promotion to manager was given to me after six months.’

Use bullets. These are the friend of the recruiter. They guide them towards what you have selected as the most important aspects of your application. You will of course, have thought through what the job and person specifications have highlighted so that you know how to echo those in your CV.

Use headings/sub-headings. These break up what could otherwise be a very dense and complex piece of writing. They make the reading more manageable for the recruiter.

Make it easy for the recruiter. Anything that makes the selection process easier for the recruiter is likely to be more successful than if you hadn’t bothered.

Now try to improve the extract attached as a pdf at the bottom of this article by adding action words and words that carry energy. You can do this be either printing out the extract or pasting it into a text document.